SAG Awards, PGA Awards, Midnight Oil, Halo in the news

Kristen Bell at the SAG Awards

Kristen Bell at the SAG Awards

SAG Awards tee up “Three Billboards” for Oscar run

Sunday night, the SAG Awards made it very clear that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a frontrunner for the Oscars.

Chicago-born Frances McDormand was named Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture.

In the film, McDormand portrays Mildred Hayes, a distraught mother who makes a bold move, painting three billboards leading into her town with a controversial message directed at the town’s chief of police.

Her co-star, Sam Rockwell, won Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture again for Three Billboards (he also won The Golden Globe and The Critics’ Choice) which also makes him the front runner for the Oscar gold as well. Gary Oldman won Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture for his outstanding portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour. And Allison Janney took home the top prize for Best Actress for I, Tonya.

Also Read: Laura Day reviews I,Tonya

In its 23-year history, individual SAG winners have gone on to take home Academy Awards more than two-thirds of the time. But winners in the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category have won the Oscar for Best Picture less than half the time. Three Billboards won Ensemble cast last night.

The Good Place’s Kristen Bell, the awards first-ever host, kicked off the all-female presenter theme for the show, underscoring the #metoo and #timesup movements. She joked that she was the “first lady” of the event. “I think my first initiative as first lady will be cyberbullying, as I have yet to see any progress on that,” Bell quipped.

William H. Macy who plays Frank Gallagher, the worst dad on the planet, in Chicago-shot Shameless won Male Actor in a Comedy Series.

Is Three Billboards unstoppable? For a full list of SAG Winners click here.

 
“Shape of Water” wins top feature at Producer Guild Awards

Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama The Shape of Water has won the Producers Guild of America’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award as top feature film for del Toro and J. Miles Dale.

Richard Jenkins at the PGA Awards
Richard Jenkins at the PGA Awards

It was joined by pair of first-season series — The Handmaid’s Tale and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — and Black Mirror took the top TV awards in ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The Shape of Water topped The Big Sick, Call Me by Your Name, Dunkirk, Get Out, I, Tonya, Lady Bird, Molly’s Game, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Wonder Woman.

Del Toro was not in attendance due to his having gone to Mexico to be with his sick father and The Shape of Water star Richard Jenkins read a statement from del Toro: “I would like to ask of you all to allow me then to dedicate a little moment and the honors of this night to both my father and my mother, to whom my infinite gratitude belongs, and in turn as a father to offer to my kids also, may they be free to pursue their dreams and fantasies and may they stand by my side when I fade away.”

With The Shape winning the PGA, it makes what is arguably Del Toro’s best film to date a front-runner to take home an Academy Award. The nominations happen tomorrow at 5 AM PST. Stay tuned to Reel Chicago as we will bring it to you.

A full list of winners can be seen here.

 
Denise Wong joins Midnight Oil as president

Burbank-based Entertainment ad agency Midnight Oil has named Denise Wong as president. She joins the Imagine owned agency after leaving experiential agency, George P. Johnson.

Denise Wong
Denise Wong

“Denise’s visionary leadership style and ability to create, motivate, and deploy cohesive and talented teams will further evolve Midnight Oil’s innovative offering” Imagine CEO John Hans, said in a statement. “We are thrilled that Denise is joining our leadership team to fuel inject the agency’s trajectory.”

Wong said, “Having worked across the financial, automotive, consumer packaged goods, and technology sectors, I’m ready to bring my skills and best practices to Midnight Oil’s leading brands including Warner Bros. Pictures, Netflix, Activision and SoftBank Robotics.”

 
Halo Top names Wolfgang as AOR

Halo Top named Venice Beach-based Wolfgang as its first agency of record, following a review.

“Halo Top is a dream brand,” Wolfgang co-founder and president Seema Miller said in a statement in AgencySpy.

“It’s fun, guilt-free and has essentially redefined the entire ice cream category,” he added. “We are excited to carry on the momentum for this amazing brand.”

Halo Top spent a little over $2.1 million in 2016 and $4.2 million during the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello10.